1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of information search applications used on a information network to return data search results as a consequence of keyword or phrase input and pertains more particularly to a system for dynamic keyword or phrase aggregation on the client side and for automated submission thereof into a search engine interface causing return of keyword or phrase-relevant results.
2. Discussion of the State of the Art
In the field of information searching over a data network like the World Wide Web, for example, it is well known that any user operating a network-capable device hosting a browser application for network navigation may use a search engine interface provided within the browser application in order to search web-based sources for information relevant to information search criteria entered into the search interface and submitted to a host providing the interface. Well known examples of search providers include Altavista™, Google™, Yahoo™, Excite™, and others.
Data returned from an information-search submission of keyword, keywords, or a phrase is typically presented within the browser interface as an electronic search result page listing interactive hyperlinks that, when invoked, direct the browser to the page associated with the universal resource locator (URL) invoked by the link, which may be textual, graphic, audio, or video data depending upon options selected for data return when the search criteria is submitted from the search interface.
More recently, search providers have created special compilations of information that may be searched as a specific type or class of information. For example, a user may limit an information search to news stories only. One of the most noted classes of information that may now be exclusively searched are research related documents published by students, professors, authors, and other academia-related practitioners.
It has occurred to the inventor that a capability of exclusively searching for academia-related documents proves particularly useful to students who must perform some kind of research in order to obtain relevant information for completing assignments. Many of these students use laptops, computers, personal digital assistants, and even third-generation (3G) network-capable telephones to conduct such information searches.
A problem with such information searching activity is that it is often ad hoc and must be performed manually by the user when the user desires to perform the research. Likewise, it may require some skill to determine keywords, phrases, and the like that will return optimally relevant results that the user may actually use. Often keywords and phrases entered by a user with good intent cause return of many links to information that is not relevant to what the user was actually searching for. Therefore much time is wasted sifting through data and refining and resubmitting keywords for additional searches. The process can be quite frustrating to an untrained user, especially one not familiar with information search processes.
Therefore, what is clearly needed in the art is an electronic system and software that can compile lists of keywords or phrases from parsing such as existing course descriptions, assignment descriptions, and other computer inputs or created documents that may exist on a users network-capable device, and an do so without intervention from the user, and submit those keywords or phrases in one or a series of information search operations causing one or a series of returns of relevant results to a user interface.